


As Dates Go...

by graceandfire



Series: But I was Being Serious! [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4487214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graceandfire/pseuds/graceandfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little epilogue to 'But I Was Being Serious'.  Can be read as a stand-a-lone.  Fred and Hermione both get ready for their date.<br/>-----<br/>Fred studied the bottle of cologne cradled in his hand, considering.  It was a dark green crystal flask labeled Dangerous Dragon Musk and the back of the bottle promised to bring out the Dragon in any man and leave the ladies swooning.  Lee had sworn by it when he shoved it into Fred's hands that afternoon.  </p><p>Fred put the bottle back down.  Then again Lee had just been dumped by Katie Bell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As Dates Go...

**Author's Note:**

> 'But I Was Being Serious' was the first fanfic I ever wrote and it's so nice that people are still reading it and enjoying it enough to comment on it. 
> 
> I had a recent inquiry about a sequel and it made me remember I actually had started a sequel way back when, now long since abandoned. I searched my files out of curiosity and was surprised to discover I'd written almost 2,000 words! I figure that's a decent enough length to be posted as a little bonus epilogue so I've polished it up and am posting it now. Please note I really don't intend to write any more of this but it ends at a decent stopping point.
> 
> Thank you to fernitron007 for reminding me how much I enjoy these characters :)

As Dates Go…

 

1

 

Fred studied the bottle of cologne cradled in his hand, considering. It was a dark green crystal flask labeled _Dangerous Dragon Musk_ and the back of the bottle promised to bring out the Dragon in any man and leave the ladies swooning. Lee had sworn by it when he shoved it into Fred's hands that afternoon.

Fred put the bottle back down. Then again Lee had just been dumped by Katie Bell. Besides, if he wore cologne on his first date with Hermione, George would mock him mercilessly. Well, George was going to mock him mercilessly no matter what but wearing cologne would be like handing George the wand and painting a big X on his own forehead saying curse me _here._

Fred studied himself carefully in the wide mirror hanging in the Gryffindor boy's common washroom and used one hand to sweep his hair back. Upon release it immediately fell forward again, his longish bangs falling right back into his face. Bloody hell, he should have gotten a trim.

And the butterflies were back.

He hissed out a frustrated sigh, glaring at himself in the mirror. Right, this was just ridiculous. He wasn't nervous. He didn't _get_ nervous. He, Fred Weasley, had once been trapped in the Slytherin dormitory, hiding out in the back of a wardrobe for three particularly tense and unpleasant hours when the timing on a prank had gone wrong. If George hadn't created a diversion so he could slip out he'd have been hexed into oblivion.

But had he been nervous?

No, he had bloody well not been.

He and George had nerves of pure steel they did. It was just one of the things that made them such excellent pranksters. So he was _not_ nervous about his upcoming date with Hermione. Bloody hell, he'd already gotten past the hard part. He'd impressed the girl, she'd agreed to go out with him…hey, _she'd_ asked _him_ in the end.

He had nothing to be nervous about.

Fred rolled his eyes. But for some stupid ruddy reason he was. Apparently, he could face down Slytherins with cool grit and he could flirt with pretty girls with Weasley wit but getting ready for his first real date with Hermione had tiny mice running rampant in his stomach. Manly mice. Well, at least George wasn't here to mock h…

"Oy, Fred!" George entered the bathroom and immediately a devilish smile appeared as he took in the sight of his brother primping in front of the mirror. His eyes came to rest on the bottle of cologne and, as Fred inwardly winced, George's face lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Oh ho! Cologne! You don't need that stuff Fred. I mean look at us," he came to stand besides Fred, casting an admiring gaze at their reflection before bending his arm to show off a manly bicep. "What woman could resist the charms of the Weasley twins? Although it's true I did get most of the good looks."

Fred smirked at George. "Funny, 'cause I seem to remember a certain Beauxbaton exchange student last year. Y'know the one who said you were…"

"That was an exception," George interrupted hastily. "The girl was clearly loony." He picked up the bottle of _Dangerous Dragon Musk_ curiously _._ "Where did you get this stuff anyway?" He picked up the bottle, opened the stopper curiously and took a whiff. Wincing at the odor he grimaced and hastily replaced the stopper. "Oh, that's rank." He gave a half-sneeze to get the foul stuff out of his nostrils.

"Lee lent it to me." Fred hastily grabbed the bottle back from him. "And I'm _not_ planning on using it."

"Oh, I dunno," George grinned at his twin. "Hermione might be just the type to swoon at the scent of _Dragon Musk_."

"Yeah," Fred agreed dryly. "'Cause Hermione's such the fainting type." He grinned. "More like she'd lecture me about the properties of real Dragon's Musk and go on for the whole date about why dragons need to be treated more fairly by wizards."

"True," George agreed, rolling his eyes at the image. That really did sound like something Hermione would do. "Why are you going out with the girl again?" He asked, tone serious, only the sly twinkle in his eyes giving him away.

Fred shot George a dark look. "Hey, no comments about my girl."

“ _Your_ girl, hmm?” George’s eyebrows shot up as he smirked and then shook his head in mock dismay. "Who knew you had a thing about being lectured to.”

"Yeah well, it's a lot more interesting being lectured to by Hermione than Flitwick," Fred shot back undaunted. "Besides,” he offered a smirk of his own. “If she goes on too long I can always distract her with a kiss."

"Well," George mused, considering. "I suppose you could try that on Flitwick too, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"Oh, thanks mate. Thanks so much for that image." Fred scowled and shook his head to try and shake it from his mind. Sometimes there were downsides to having a great imagination.

"Anytime," George smiled cheerfully, his work complete. He eyed the bottle of cologne consideringly. "Y’know, we should add something special to this for Lee. To thank him for his generosity."

"Hey now, Lee was trying to do me a favor," Fred felt compelled to speak in defense of their friend.

George raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Mate, I smelled the stuff. I think he was trying to poison you."

Fred felt a grin of mischief rising up to match his twin's. "Well, maybe we could give our new potion a trial run. I mean, Lee really should know better than to lend us anything."

"It's like he _wants_ to be pranked," George nodded somberly.

Fred tossed the flask back to George who caught it deftly, grinning back at his twin. "I'll take care of this since you need to get ready for the 'big date'."

"It's not a big date, it's just a regular, ordinary date," Fred lied, resisting the urge to look at the mirror again. "And remember," he turned to George with a pointed look. "You're not to come anywhere near us today. You gave your word."

"I gave my word and I will keep it," George agreed as he raised a hand in a vow, his face a picture of innocence.

"I mean it, George," Fred frowned suspiciously.

"I mean it too," George protested, managing to look even more innocent.

"George! I mean it!"

"What!? I mean it too!"

" _George_!!"

 

2

 

Hermione sat in the common room between Ron and Harry, trying to focus on her textbook and ignore both the butterflies in her stomach and the blithering of Ron.

"Just remember, don't let Fred kiss you or anything, alright?" Ron scowled at Hermione. "He's not the most trustworthy bloke."

Hermione just tightened her grip on _Magical Items and those who Wielded Them Poorly._

Harry was half-amused and half-apprehensive at Ron's topic of conversation. He had a feeling that any minute now Hermione was going to lose patience and hurl her chosen tome right between Ron's eyes. And it was a bloody big book.

"Hey, I mean it!" Ron blustered, failing to see the danger signs. "We don't want to see you turning into one of those couples who go snogging up and down the hallways. I shouldn't be forced to see you and my brother like that."

Hermione finally looked up from her book long enough to roll her eyes. "Yes, Ronald, because it's all about you, isn't it?"

"There are just some things a bloke shouldn't have to see!" Ron defended himself. "Right, Harry?"

"Uh…"

"Right!" Ron nodded emphatically, as if Harry had just vigorously agreed with him.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Hermione sighed in exasperation, her cheeks going a bit pink at all this talk of snogging, "First of all, Ronald, do I honestly seem like the type of girl who goes snogging all over the hallways? Secondly, this is just a walk down to Hogsmeade, not a betrothal. Thirdly,” her voice was firmly in lecture mode by now, “if we did start snogging all over the place, it would not be even the slightest bit of your business. If it disturbs you then you should close your eyes. And _fourthly_ , the only one here who seems to have snogging on the brain is you!"

Ron sat there stewing for a moment as Hermione determinedly went back to reading and Harry pretended to read an article on Quidditch.

"I just think you shouldn't snog him on the first date!"

_"Ronald!"_

 

3

 

Fred sat on the railing of one of the outside halls and waited for Hermione to show up so they could walk down to Hogsmeade together. As he waited, his agile mind went over his plans for the day again. Planning, creativity and flexibility were the keys to successful pranks _and_ successful dates. First there would be the giving of the flower. Corny? Oy. Very. But girls liked that sort of thing and Hermione was, well, a girl. An unusual girl, but still a girl. Besides, he wanted to make her smile.

Second there would be the walking to Hogsmeade together. He hadn’t planned any topics of conversation, confident in his own quick wits and Hermione’s clever tongue to keep the conversational pace from faltering. That’s what he liked about Hermione. The girl knew everything about everything and if she didn’t, well then, she immediately rushed to the library to look it up. It was cute.

Third, he had made George _swear_ not to mess with the date. Of course this meant there was about a five percent chance that George actually _would_ keep to his word and stay away, so Fred had a few surprises up his sleeve for his twin if he showed up and was too obnoxious. Their other friends and Ron, he wasn’t worried about. Fred grinned. In fact, it might be fun if they ran into Ron and Harry. He could torment Ron by getting all lovey dovey with Hermione. Of course, the girl was too kind hearted to really get into tormenting Ron. It was one of her only failings as far as Fred could see.

“Fred!”

Fred’s head whipped up and he grinned as the object of his thoughts walked towards him purposefully. Hermione was wearing muggle clothes today, jeans and a pink sweater. The pastel color suited her. And the smile she wore suited her as well. It was happy and sparkling and just a bit shy around the edges.

It was the shy that made him want to lean down and kiss her. Hermione was so sure about everything. To see a hint of uncertainty because of their date made him feel protective. Giving in to impulse he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek--got to go slow with this one Fred, old boy--and as pink stained her cheeks he lifted his wand and with a dramatic flourish yelled “Flora viola!”, reaching out a hand to snag the sprig of purple flowers that appeared in mid-air.

“For you, my lady,” he offered the flowers to Hermione with a bow and a flourish.

“Oh!” Hermione smiled and Fred felt his heart give a strange thump at the shyly pleased expression on her face. “Oh, Fred, they’re lovely.”

“Well, you deserve ‘em, don’t you?” Fred responded, offering his hand. “Shall we, m’lady?”

“We shall,” Hermione smiled up at him, reaching out to grab his hand.

As they began the walk down to Hogsmeade, Hermione brought the bouquet up to her nose to inhale the scent of the flower. “Did you know that pansies are part of the violet family and that they were first bred by…”

Fred smiled at the lecturing tone Hermione’s voice took on. Weeping wizards, he was sunk and he didn’t even mind it.

This date was going to be perfect.

 


End file.
